From Eric ...

Hi Paul

 

Attached is a shot 3 sequence of Justin Spittle on his 4GF Standard taking his biggest wave of the day down south last week.

 

Note the set up just down the beach from us which was nearly as good as where we were...hahaha

 

Our SCUMM friends sharing their waves.

 

On Tuesday I sneaked down the far south coast NSW and surfed Yabba dabba doo all on my own so much fun.

 

Hope you are scoring as well.

 

Regards Eric Da Bolt (matman)

It All Started ...

...the other day when Steiny sent an email to me with this Ebay link...

It depicts a low-end Converse/Hodgman Beach Flote surf mat. The dimensions are very short and wide, by modern standards...

 

I commented to Mr. Steinberg that it would be cool to find one of the old "Stripes Down" Hodgmans on Ebay...like the one pictured below, which belonged to Greenough, and is most likely the mat he rode in Crystal Voyager.

Steiny bounced back with this ebay link... which features a pair of Converse/Hodgmans that look similar to the mats we loved so much back in the 60's and early 70's...

 

Upon inspection of the Ebay posting for the above mats, I found that they are quite a bit longer than the ones we rode back in the day...so long, in fact, I'm not even sure what you could use them for other than a camping airbed!

Anyway, I sent the Ebay listing over to Jonathan Jarrett, since he's a collector of classic mats. (This is his breezeway!)

His response...


Hello Paul,

Wow!...those are amazingly clean for their age...

 

Funny, I do check for vintage mats on ebay occasionally, but not too much out there.

I found a vintage Hodgman inflatable at the swap meet once, same configuration...more of a camp mat for under your sleeping bag. (see below)

 

I purchased it anyways, and took it into surgery later to shorten it's length down to the preferred length. I dubbed it the "Frankenmat", and it served me well during the "lean years" prior to 4GF, or my own mats. Here's some pics, including a matching repair kit for the Ebay Hodgmans!

 

Take care,

JJ

  

 

 

 

 

 

From Roger ...

Now Vikings regarded all watercraft as living things.  

Viking used the same terms for similar parts on ships as existed on living things. As a result, ship have eyes and ribs and wooden ships even have knees.  The word “bow” derives from the Viking word, “bog,” which meant the front of an animal. As living things, watercraft merited names.  They believed spirits lived in watercraft and the majority of those spirits were feminine. Watercraft had characters and personalities, and for millennia watercraft were referred to as “she.” Those traditions continue in subtle ways.

For centuries, men have decorated the objects of their affection. Men have showered women with ornamentation in the form of diamonds, rubies, pearls, and gold.  Men have showered watercraft with ornamentation of carved wood, knotted hemp, and expensive paint. Carved wood absorbed the greatest degree of labor.  Figureheads, quarterboards, and sternboards, expressed an owner’s judgment of the character of his ship. Next in order of creativity came decorative knotwork, known to civilians as “macrame” and sailors as “coxcombing. Finally came paint, perhaps, the most expensive ornamental touch when calculated over the life of watercraft.

By WWII we hadn't shaken our sense that the things that carried us to dangerous places should have names. At the outset of that war, American planes adopted some of the same traditions as ships.

“Nose art” was the name given to artwork applied to the nose of an aircraft. It was the two-dimensional equivalent of a figurehead and the ladies of nose art were every bit as buxom and risque as figureheads.

So I continued a tradition.  Here I've taken the liberty of both naming my 4thGF "Omni" surfmat myself, and applying a little nose art. If I’d been more intensely naval I suppose I would have applied “Nina” to a UDT which is of course named for the Navy’s Underwater Demolition Teams (1943-1983) of which I was a member. Unfortunately I bought the surfmat first and thought of nose art second, totally forgetting watercraft have spirits and hunger for ornamentation.

Now,  I couldn’t see any way of carving ornamentation for, or into, a surfmat and since no 4thGF mat has lifelines to gussy up with decorative knots, neither of those arts were applicable to “Nina.”  Paint, waterproof fabric paint, was the answer.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, “’Nina,” empress of the waves.

If I lose “Nina” in the surf I can search ashore and identify her, because there will be none quite like her.  

At all cost, I must strive to retrieve “Nina” promptly.   

For feminine surfmats can be fickle. 

Best regards,

Roger

From Polly, via her IPhone ...

Photographer - Polly

Surfer - 'The Legendary Surfleader' Greg Barber :)

From Daniel ...

4GF Fatty in action...

RIP Hobie

Update: Bretto In Paradise

Hi Paul,

Today is Nyepi day which marks the Balinese new year. Everyone is confined to the compound for 24 hours, no traffic, no lights, no going out and of course no surfing. 

 

The day of silence is to fool the bad spirits into thinking there is no one here and therefore they pass by. The gods are kind this year as the surf has dropped to as flat as it gets picking up tomorrow and the day after just to top off what has been a trip of a lifetime.

 

Regards

Bretto

From Erik ...

Erik Bluhm sourced these 60's era mat riding photos on a Facebook page dedicated to surf clubs in the South Bay area of Los Angeles.

The link to the surf club page is here . Even if you're not into the club scene, it's a treasure trove of images and story.

The top mat photo with a nice thread of comments is here ...

 

From Tim ...

Hi Paul,

I hope you are well. I just wanted to let you know that I have published a new video: https://vimeo.com/89944713

Actually I never thought I would do something with the material from my last summer vacation in France. It was either completely flat or big and closing out. Still I managed to get some fun rides on my Omni.

When I now look at the result I realize that the video is so much more about the anticipation that I feel when I'm on the way to go surfing. I'm always nervous and if feels like I'm having a first date. To me this anticipation is such an essential part of the whole surfing experience. So this video shows more of the getting to the waves rather than actual mat surfing. I hope you like it anyhow.

By the way, I’ll be in in California on a business trip arriving next Tuesday evening and I’ll be staying for almost two weeks. It’ll be my first time in the area and I have planned in a couple of extra days to visit the coastline and to do some filming if possible. It would be great to meet some other surfmat riders too.

 

Kind regards

Tim

From Eric ...

 

 

 

Hi Paul

 

Attached are photo’s of SCUMM mat slider Justin “Slaga” Spittle down the coast on a nice day recently.

 

Justin rides a 4GF Standard most of the time, the same as me. He likes to hold a high line on most waves after he paddles in with is arms and certainly generates heaps of speed. He is based in Sydney but hopes to move down our way soon. Another lover of the south coast NSW.

 

Also enclosed a picture of what a tube looks like from the inside and outside, GoPro camera’s are the go.

 

Regards Eric Da Bolt

 

 

Another Indo Update, This Time From Neil ...

Hi Paul,

Was over in Bali over the weekend and unfortunately didn't hit the swell as Bretto has. Here's a photo of barely breaking Uluwatu.  Ignore me and just look at the faces of the surfers behind.  I always love the "what the hell was that?" look  that people give me when I get the wave that they didn't. This is on my Standard.

Neil H.

Poor Bretto !!!

 

Hi Paul,

18 days straight has taken its toll. I'm surfed out and need a day off.

 

This trip has been a dream, absolutely awesome surf with no one around just one or two mates. 

I've got a fair few good photos for you but I'll have to wait until I get home and work out how to get them to you. Still got 10 days to go and the forecast is looking good. Had a rest today so I'm  ready to go.

 

Regards

 

Bretto

From Mister Dirk ...

Kid's Classic Swim Shorts !

The link is: http://www.orlebarbrown.com/russell/board-silly

(Apparently, they think surf mat are boards...or mat riding is silly...or these kids are bored silly.)

Greenough Drift Turns ...

As a follow up to Mister Dirk's tip on tail slide cutbacks, here are two shots of Greenough executing tail drift turns on Converse Hodgman mats back in the 60's.

The first is a simple directional adjustment on a bumpy wave on Maui, the second a nice turn-around coming out of a cut back at Rincon.

From ACE ...

 

 

Buenos Dias from Ecuador. 3 months go by fast. Been giving the mat a lot of use. Here are some pics.

ACE

From Bretto ...

Hi Paul

Having fun in the jungle, found a few great spots . Haven't got much internet here so I hope this email gets to you. 

 

Still had waves everyday, rights and lefts, the swell hasn't been too big so its been perfect. 

 

Selamat tinggal

 

Bretto

Mat Riding Tips From The Pros ..

This one is from Mister Dirk, of Santa Barbara, CA...

Best referred to as a "tail slide cut back," it's effective in smaller, weaker waves.

If the rider is running out of wall, they can swing the tail around underneath them and head back into the white water almost immediately. With a little practice, it's easy to execute!